Women’s Soccer League Is Unveiled
Despite the huge success locally of last summer’s Women’s World Cup, Los Angeles will not have a team in the women’s professional soccer league set to begin play in April 2001.
The Women’s United Soccer Assn. (WUSA) on Monday identified its eight initial franchise cities and announced that it had signed a four-year cable TV contract with Time Warner Inc.
The league conditionally named Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Orlando-Tampa Bay, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington D.C., as its first eight markets.
It also selected Los Angeles, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Miami, Portland, Ore., Raleigh-Durham and St. Louis as cities that could join the league in its first year or in subsequent years.
The eight franchise cities have until Nov. 1 to secure stadium contracts. Should any fail to do so, cities from the alternate list will replace them.
WUSA said it had received letters of intent from more than 100 domestic and foreign players, including all the members of the 1999 Women’s World Cup-winning U.S. national team.
The league has yet to be sanctioned by U.S. Soccer, which has been notified that Major League Soccer also wants to run a women’s league. The federation will have to select between the WUSA and MLS bids, but the American players have made their preference clear.
“We are totally committed to playing for just the WUSA and hope that is the league that gets sanctioned,” said U.S. team co-captain Julie Foudy.
The league plans to expand to 12-14 clubs in its first five years, according to its chairman, John Hendricks, CEO of Discovery Communications Inc.
Time Warner Cable, Cox Enterprises and Comcast Corporation are among the investors that have provided $40 million for WUSA’s launch.
Sissi of Brazil, Laurie Hill of Mexico, Kelly Smith of England, Julie Murray of Australia, Patience Avre of Nigeria and Charmaine Hooper of Canada are among the Women’s World Cup players to have signed with the league.
The television package calls for 88 WUSA games to be televised on Turner Network Television (TNT) and CNN/Sports Illustrated during the contract’s four-year duration.
